San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been impressive during his three starts this season, including Sunday's 25-23 win over the Tennessee Titans. While the 49ers offense may not be getting into the end zone as often as they'd like, Garoppolo is consistently leading the unit up and down the football field.
At home against Tennessee, Garoppolo completed 31 of his 43 attempts for 381 yards, a touchdown, and a passer rating of 106.8. His 1,008 passing yards in his first three starts are the most by a 49ers quarterback in his first three starts in franchise history.
For the second time in the past three weeks, Garoppolo engineered a game-winning scoring drive in the fourth quarter. Trailing 22-23 with 1:07 left in the game, he moved the offense down the field while completing three of his five attempts for 45 yards to set up kicker Robbie Gould for the game-winning 45-yard field goal as time expired.
Gould connected on a single-game career-high six field goals against the Titans, including the game-winner. He feels that Garoppolo, and now the 49ers, benefit from the years Garoppolo spent as an understudy to Tom Brady in New England.
"If you go and look at the throws that he's been making the last couple of games," Gould said, "the way he's come in here as a leader, the way he's handled the huddle, the way he's handled himself throughout the week preparing some young receivers and helping guys out, the routes that he tries to get them to run, and what he's looking for against the defense and get everyone on the same page. He comes from a great pedigree in New England, obviously learning from one of the best. I've played there so I know the type of football player that he's coming from and that we're getting, and it's a pretty special football player."
Tight end Garrett Celek had three receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown on a 5-yard scoring pass from Garoppolo against the Titans.
"He's got a great touch," Celek said of his quarterback. "I just think we're all on the same level. The throws aren't late. They aren't tight throws into coverage. Right when you get open, he's firing it in there. Everything's kind of meshing really well right now."
Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne had a single-game career-high 85 receiving yards from Garoppolo.
"He is always composed," Bourne said. "He has always showed us that. Once he first got here he has always been composed. He is a guy that you just respect when you see him. He has always had that characteristic about him. He has that leader character, so we bought in as soon as he got here."
Bourne is one of the numerous players that has fed off of Garoppolo's poise and sense of calmness while leading the offense, even with chaos around him. Garoppolo was under pressure on 18 of his 46 dropbacks but was still 12-of-15 for 135 yards and a 104.2 passer rating during those plays.
"He doesn't really panic," Bourne said. "He gets pressure a lot, but he is still able to make plays. He is a stud. He can move well."
Another player benefiting from Garoppolo's presence is wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who has gone over 100 receiving yards in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
"He's just very in tune with everybody," Goodwin said. "It's crazy. I don't think I've ever played with anybody like him. If you look, my route, it may have been a good route and it may have not, but I don't have to run a perfect route ... He's a great guy, a great QB, throwing dimes, making plays, and extending drives. That's what you want in a quarterback."
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk has eight catches for 100 yards during Garoppolo's three starts with the 49ers. Following Sunday's win, Juszczyk was asked about Garoppolo's demeanor.
"Jimmy is honestly different than most quarterbacks that I've been with because he's so passionate and fiery," Juszczyk said. "You don't see that a lot from quarterbacks. He's out there pumping us up and keeping us locked in on the sidelines. He does a great job of that."
Juszczyk went on to describe what Garoppolo did to motivate his teammates before the 49ers' final drive of the game.
"Before the last drive, he came up to each and every one us and said to stay locked in because we might need to do this one more time," Juszczyk said. "We were all counting on the defense to get a stop, but he said to not sleep and stay locked in because we might need one more."
"Everybody here just thinks the world of him," Juszczyk continued. "He continues to perform, and he's helped elevate everyone else's play. So yes, I think he's exceeded some expectations."
Tight end George Kittle was asked if he was surprised how quickly Garoppolo has taken on a leadership role among his new teammates.
"With a guy like Jimmy, he asserted himself as a leader the first week that he was here," Kittle said. "That's just the type of guy that he is. He's a guy that you want to follow. He puts himself up there. Jimmy breaks us down before we get on the field every single day. He's one of the most fired up guys, just like Joe Staley. It's really awesome to see that, and it's easy to follow him. You want to play well for him. That's what football is all about."
Left tackle Joe Staley, who is one of the most tenured 49ers players and has seen numerous quarterbacks come and go, loves blocking for Garoppolo.
"He is very calm, collected and focused," Staley said. "Not to say that wasn't here before, but it definitely has a different aura around him. We are really excited about him. It is fun to block for him."
